Category Archives: Carpet Padding

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If you have active kids like I’ve had, you know first-hand that you cannot be in all places at all times and when your child drops a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on your carpet, it takes more than a just few minutes to get that stain to come out!

My wife and I had four kids and they were all about 2 years apart. So having a one-year old, a three-year old a five-year old and seven-year old kept us running both day and night!

Since I am carpet installer, I had the ability to change our family room carpet at a much lower cost than you can. But that doesn’t mean you should have to pay a fortune to replace your carpet if you have active children or pets. In my free and unbiased article you will learn some powerful insider secrets to buying the right grade of carpet for your home. Why spend more than you need to? You can buy a decent carpet, that will last for three years or more, for less than $8 per square yard! Let me teach you the tips and tricks to saving the most money possible and make your life easier….

Take a look at my free article to learn more about choosing the best carpet for active kids and pets!

Learn what questions you need to ask and what you need to do before,during and after you have new carpet installed in your home!

Learn little-known insider tricks and tips to make sure you get the job done right the first time and what you must do to keep your new carpet warranty in force. Discover smart ways to ensure you side-step common consumer mishaps and avoid costly carpet buying and installation problems and mistakes.

I live in Clinton Township Michigan. My husband and I are looking to replace all of our upstairs carpet. The carpet to be replaced includes a hall, a stair case with 12 stairs, and four upper bedrooms.

Last week I stopped into a local family owned carpet store to look at a carpet that I had seen in a family member’s home. The carpet was made by Mohawk and is made from 75% Smartstrand and 25% P.E.T. Polyester.

Tonight we had an in-home estimate from a well-known shop-at- home company. The salesman brought out some plush style carpets that he stated were great for high traffic areas. He showed us a 60 oz weight, and a 50 oz weight carpet samples. I asked him if in fact that they carried “Smartstrand” and he said yes however that it was a special order carpet. He went on to say that the sample that I had from the local dealer was only about a 30 oz face weight and would mat down over time. He instead suggested that his Shaw plush style was a much better choice for the stairs and hall. He quoted us $3,750 to do the hall/stairs and the four bedrooms. I had received a quote of $4,036 from the local family owned carpet store with the 30 oz face weight carpet.

Both offered 8 lb padding. The shop-at- home company offered padding without the moisture barrier, they have it but he did not believe that we needed it (because it is just me and my husband in the home), but the local dealer offered padding with the moisture barrier.

I came across your site after going online to look at some other local carpet stores to see what they may have to offer. I guess I would like an expert such as you to weigh in or give some advice as to why the local carpet store would only offer us a 30 oz face weight and give a quote of $4000 dollars and the shop-at- home carpet company quote $3,750.00 with w 60 oz face weight. Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Cathy

Hi Cathy,

Thanks for your carpet questions! I have to make some assumptions with the limited information you gave me, so this email is my best “guesstimate” response for you.

It sounds like you had Empire Today out tonight to show you some polyester carpet samples. I never recommend buying carpet from Empire, and I don’t recommend you buy a carpet made of PET or Polyester fibers unless you want it to last for less than 7 years. Those are the absolute worst fibers, no matter what they tell you. Neither of two carpets you mentioned can handle medium to heavy foot traffic regardless of their 50 or 60-ounce face-weights. Fiber type, Tuft twist and pile density are way more important factors to consider than is a higher face-weight. You need to consider all the carpet specifications to know if the carpet is durable enough to handle your application and last as long as you anticipate. (See attached carpet durability chart)

A carpet made of Nylon is always the best choice for stairs and hallways and other heavy foot-traffic areas. Smartstrand, P.E.T. or Polyester fibers do not perform as well on stairs and hallways as they tend to mat down quickly in medium to heavy foot traffic applications. If your home has low foot-traffic, then a Smartstrand (Triexta) fiber might work well for you, but it should still have good specifications, hopefully more than 30-ounce face-weight and good pile-density rating (see attached carpet durability chart)

Best Padding Choice

You don’t really need a moisture barrier padding, so why pay extra for it. A good quality Rebond type pad, 7/16”, 8-pound density will do the job just fine. Learn more about moisture barrier padding and other specialty padding types.

New Carpet is more costly than most homeowners expect. To help you understand how much new carpet and padding will cost you, I’ve created a helpful New Carpet and Pad Pricing Chart.

Homeowners, if you are in the market for new carpet you should first take my free Carpet Foot Traffic Test and then you can cross reference your unique Level of Foot Traffic with the Number of Years you want your New Carpet to Last.

You will discover what “Grade of Carpet” you need to buy and how much you might need to spend to get the new carpet and padding that will be the best choice for your home.

Don’t be a victim of a carpet scam! Make sure you buy from a reputable Carpet Dealer.

Carpet scams are common! That’s why I’ve created my own special hand-picked list of locally owned and reputable Carpet Dealers that I personally recommend to my readers. Don’t take chances when it comes to buying new carpet or flooring for your home! See who I recommend near you.

Before You Buy New Carpet Checklist – CarpetProfessor.com

There are certain wise steps every homeowner should take in order to make sure the carpet you buy will meet your needs and goals and that you don’t make simple yet costly carpet buying mistakes.

The Carpet Professor (www.carpetprofessor.com) has published a free and useful list of The order of events you need to be aware of, and what issues you need to look out for, in a handy and useful PDF file entitled: “Before You Buy New Carpet Checklist”.

Click the link below to learn secrets to how to buy carpet wisely, and what you need to do to make sure your carpet is selected wisely and installed properly and you have few problems along the way!

“How to Measure For Carpet In 4 Simple Steps”

Many carpet salespeople are not well trained in the art of carpet measuring and may sell you more carpet than you actually need. It’s a common problem that could end up costing you hundreds more than you actually need to spend. Here’s how to protect yourself from overmeasuring:

To protect yourself from being overcharged for materials or labor, you need to find out approximately how much carpet you need to buy. But remember, having a carpet professional measure your home for you is always the best way to go! Notice that I said “Carpet Professional”, I did not say “Carpet Salesperson”. Some salespeople measure very well while others have absolutely no idea what they are doing, and you might not be able to tell the difference until it’s too late.

However, you can easily learn how to measure your home for carpet in four simple steps. This can help you avoid being overcharged for carpet, pad and installation or help you get a good idea about how much your carpet project is going to cost. You just need a tape measure, paper and pencil and a calculater.

After you do all four steps and measure your home for carpet, you can also take your diagrams to the carpet retailer or other carpet seller and they can determine how much carpet you need from your diagram. This will help you confirm how much carpet you need and help prevent you from being overcharged for materials and labor.

Step One

Draw a simple diagram of your home. I did this drawing on my computer using a simple “paint” program; you have a paint program on your computer too, look in “accessories” in your program files.

The drawing doesn’t have to be perfect but the measurements need to be accurate. Just a simple drawing with all the rooms shown is all you need. If you have a two story home, then do two drawings, one for upper, one for lower. Your drawing should look something like this…

Carpet installation costs, fees and charges vary depending on your location, how difficult the job is and the type of Carpet you select. Here’s what YOU need to know…

Highest and Lowest Carpet Installation Costs Nationwide

In different parts of the United States, the current price for Carpet Installation may be slightly higher or lower depending on the current supply and demand in your area. Right now is a great time to buy new carpet because installation costs are generally lower everywhere right now due to the lack of consumer spending on basic home improvements.